My name is Nick Winkleman. I'm the Head of Athletic Performance and Science here at the Irish Rugby Football Union.
When we look at the process of designing any gym, you have to look at the outcome you are trying to achieve. What is the purpose - the why of the space. And for us we wanted it to be number one a space people wanted to be in. We wanted to be a space that screams high performance, that screams growth, just by the nature of walking into this place. People thought I'm on a path to improving.
Second to that was the efficiency with which we could achieve that mission. We knew the raw facts were it had to handle a certain amount of players. So that dictated how many racks that we had. And then from there how do we position them in such a way to maximise space?
Ultimately BLK BOX has impressed every step of the way from the direct support from Greg and his team on building the design. I don't know how many iterations of this gym we went through but these individuals were as relentless as we were getting it right. They never said no. It was solutions all the way through. When we look at the quality of the install and the follow up to make sure every single seam, crease and piece of equipment was where it should be fit for purpose, they executed every step of the way.
When you look at working with anyone whether it's an individual or a company it's all about relationships. And luckily for me I knew Greg Bradley before he started BLK BOX. And when I took the job with Irish rugby and it heard what Greg had done with BLK BOX and the history he was quickly accumulating around client management, client support and building world class facilities, I knew that that was an individual and an organisation we should speak with. When you look at recommending a company you know that you stack your credibility on top of theirs.
And when I look at BLK BOX as an organisation from the people, the process and the places that they physically build, to their follow up in support I cannot recommend BLK BOX highly enough. They are a major player in the fitness facility gym facility space. They are here to stay and I think their absolute value add to the overall world of high performance.